


The Amethyst Crystal

by Soquilii9



Category: Almost Paradise (TV)
Genre: Devotion, Gen, Healing, Hope, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24703126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soquilii9/pseuds/Soquilii9
Summary: Amethyst is a stone of spiritual protection, purification and healing; creating a resonant shield of spiritual light around the body.That's what they say...
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	The Amethyst Crystal

Metal clinking against ancient volcanic rock; first the heavy pickax, then the rock hammer. Hours of hard work for the miner, but the geode wasn't about to make it easy for him. It had no wish to be excavated from its home of granitic rock, having resided there for ages. Still, wishes were useless against the determination of a man, who at last freed the geode from its ancient dwelling and held it in the palm of his hand. A little larger than a softball, its exterior hideous and nondescript, within it lay a treasure.

The miner carefully placed the geode with the rest in the railed cart. He hung his pickax over the side and began slowly pushing the cart toward the pinpoint of light that was the mine's entrance, where for the first time in nearly two million years the geode would greet the sun. Another man in dusty workroom used a diamond saw to cut the geode in half. He found within it good quality amethyst crystals which would sell faster cut into two and three-inch pieces. He cleaned the best of the pieces, inserted them crystal side down into protective foam, and boxed them for shipment to museums and gift shops worldwide, to be sold as souvenirs. 

One such gift shop, a small, unassuming affair, had just opened in Cebu. How strange, the workman thought, as he labeled the box for that destination, that someone would buy a souvenir which originated in Thunder Bay, Ontario... to remind them of a visit to The Phillippines. So very strange.

**~~~~~**

The small crystal, along with its kinsmen, most of whom had been sliced from the same geode, arrived at the Paradise Gift Shop in Cebu in a small wooden crate. Prying the crate open was a middle-aged man named Alex Walker, who had bought the shop for his retirement. He removed the old-school, shredded wood excelsior and lifted the box from the crate. Within, he found half a dozen pieces of geode; their rocky, rough surfaces turned outward. He lifted each one carefully, allowing the beam of sunlight streaming through the windows to caress each crystal for a moment and explode purple lights all over the rather shabby interior. They seemed almost magical. They were sure to sell. He affixed a price of forty dollars to the smaller pieces and sixty to the largest. 

'Sell just a few of these and my lights and water are paid for the month,' Alex muttered to himself.

He placed them neatly on one of the display shelves.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The shop hadn't yet taken off. Customers were thin on the ground. Few entered the store. Of those, not one seemed interested in the amethyst crystals.

He tried pushing them. Suggesting them. Placing one enticingly on the cash register counter.

Nothing worked. Nobody even stole one.

Shaking his head, he returned the crystal to its place on the shelf and forgot about it, about all of them. Life here in Cebu was proving to be much more challenging than he had originally anticipated; the shop began taking second place in importance to his new life on the island.

**~~~~~**

One day a young girl, whose mother worked at the nearby resort, helped him carry some water buckets to tide him over until he could pay his utility bill. With no ready cash, he offered to pay her from the less expensive items of her choosing off the racks, items valued at five dollars. He watched as she glanced around. Did the crystal call to her, beckoning her away from the cool, gauzy island skirts and blouses? He watched her pick it up, admiring its shades of deep purple and lavender.

He redirected her. 'No, no, I said anything off the _racks_. Five bucks and under. That's like, forty bucks.'

'What _is_ this?' she asked, curiously.

'Which one is it?'

She brought it closer for his inspection.

'That there's an amethyst crystal. Some people say it has healing qualities.'

Carrying a heavy water bucket half a city block warranted more than just a cheap blouse, she decided. 'I want it.'

'No, I said anything _off the racks.'_

'I want it,' she cajoled, casting a doe-eyed glance at his obstinate face.

He narrowed his eyes. 'You remind me of my daughter. She's a little older than you, but _just as annoying.'_

'So that means I can have this?' she asked, hopefully.

'Fine! You earned it.' A parent learned how to cave early. He hadn't forgotten the lessons nor the technique. 

'Thank you,' she said graciously. Just then, from outside, she heard her mother calling. As she opened the door, the sight of two police officers accompanying her mother caused her to drop the crystal, forgotten, to the floor. Something was terribly wrong.

**~~~~~**

A few days later, Alex saw little Rita sitting dejectedly on a rocky cliff not far from the shop. He asked to join her, for he knew her father had been killed. In an effort to comfort her, Alex handed her the crystal. 

'You left this at the gift shop.'

'The amethyst crystal!'

'That's right.'

'And it's for healing, right?'

'That's what they say.'

The man and the girl turned their gaze out to sea. Alex remained with Rita, his very presence just as comforting as the amethyst crystal in her hand.

**~~~~~**

Some months passed. Alex had received a visit from his daughter Evelyn and it had not gone well. They had grown estranged over the years. Alex found his daughter to be bitterly resentful; she verbally attacked him. Alex had collapsed from the strain and had been taken by ambulance from the resort to the hospital. Rita, whose mother worked at the resort, allowed her to go with the manager to visit him.

'Mr. Alex? It's me, Rita.' He couldn't hear her. He lay unconscious in the bed, hooked up to wires and tubes. While the manager kept watch, the little girl went to meet Evelyn, who had been talking to Kai Mendoza of the Mactan Police Department and also Alex's friend.

'You must be Evelyn, huh? Alex says that I'm annoying, just like you.'

'It's nice to meet a kindred spirit,' Evelyn replied, smiling.

Rita dug something out of her bag. 'Will you give this to him when he wakes up? It's for healing.' She handed Evelyn the amethyst crystal. 'He gave that to me when my father died... and it helped me... but now, _he_ needs it.'

Evelyn nodded. There were tears in her eyes.

'We have to go,' said the manager. Rita left with her.

Evelyn looked at the stone curiously. 'He has this whole life here.'

'He's helped a lot of people on the island,' said Kai. 'They all care about him.'

**~~~~~**

Then came the day Evelyn had to leave. 

'Hold on, I gotta give you something,' said Alex, as he held up the crystal. Evelyn had made sure her father received Rita's gift.

'The healing crystal,' she acknowledged.

'Amethyst,' her father confirmed.

Evelyn held it a moment. 'Give it back to that little girl,' she said. 'We've done enough healing for one trip.'

Encouraged, Alex put the crystal back in his pocket. As Evelyn was walking out the door he called to her. 'Hey, Evelyn? We good now?'

'No... ' she said, candidly. He nodded soberly, proud of her honesty but resigned to a broken relationship. 

Then she said, '... but we'll get there. See you, Pops.'

Suddenly she broke into tears and leaped into his arms. He held her tight.

Alex's blood surged through his veins, not from hypertension, but from hope... and sheer joy.

That night he removed the chunk of purple and lavender crystal from his pocket and placed it on his night table. It was the last thing he looked at each night after that.

**~~~~~**

The sun peeked through the window each morning and bombarded the crystal on the night table with light, as if to say, _People attribute good things to you; look at all the good you've done. Is it not better to be where I can shine on you than to be buried beneath tons of rock? Is it not better here, where even the idea that you can help people gives you purpose? Are you not grateful to the miner after all?_

If the amethyst crystal could have nodded, it would have.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz known as one of the master crystals in relation to spirituality. Amethyst is credited with relieving physical, emotional, and psychological pain or stress.


End file.
